Hijinio Carreon, D.O.’03, was appointed interim chief medical officer (CMO) at MercyOne Des Moines, IA, and West Des Moines medical centers.
Dr. Carreon joined MercyOne in 2007 and served as co-medical director of the department of emergency medicine at MercyOne Des Moines and West Des Moines and CMO of MercyOne Newton Medical Center. In these roles, he improved the patient care process and the rate of patients being seen and developed medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction and alternative care to decrease opioid prescribing. He also utilized data analytics to improve provider coverage and patient care. Newton patients benefited from his knowledge and assistance in creating access to new pain management services and a new inpatient hospital program with virtual overnight coverage.
As interim CMO, Dr. Carreon will oversee clinical operations of the medical staff and will be dedicated to developing initiatives to improve physician engagement, patient satisfaction, safety and overall clinical quality. He will also oversee five residency programs: family medicine, internal medicine, general surgery, plastic surgery and psychiatry. Dr. Carreon has been adapting to his new role since mid-July to ensure a smooth transition for physicians, providers and allied professionals.
MercyOne Central Iowa operates four nonprofit Catholic medical centers in Des Moines, West Des Moines, Newton and Centerville (875 beds combined total) and two specialty hospitals – MercyOne Children’s Hospital in Des Moines and MercyOne Rehabilitation Hospital in Clive – along with more than 20 additional facilities that house more than 50 primary care, pediatric, internal medicine and specialty clinics.
